Okay, maybe the worst is too harsh. For my last 2010 list, I’m digging into the albums that should have been much better than they were–either because of hype or expectation based on past performance. So they’re not worse than Justin Bieber or that kinda nonsense but, really, guys–if this was the best you could scrape together, you shoulda kept digging. Sometimes the crap that comes out of your head does not need to be said. Or sung.
10. Vampire Weekend-Contra. I almost didn’t put this on here ’cause it seemed like such a “gimme,” but at least their debut was a little crisp. This is soggy. Stale, soggy, David Byrne backwash.
9. Christina Aguilera-Bionic. You might be surprised to hear I expected better from her. At least give us one good single!
8. M.I.A.-Maya. See above.
7. Man on the Moon II – Kid Cudi. What’s the appeal? It’s like B.O.B. without the bounce, and Kanye without the creativity. At least it wasn’t as bad as Drake. This one is on my list for being way too overrated and overvalued by the interspheres.
6. Hole – Nobody’s Daughter Continuing her slow, steady slip into the land of mediocrity. This entry on the list could easily be switched with the latest Ice Cube album.
5. Interpol – Interpol. Last year’s “Julian Plenti” album was far, far better. This one just sounds like all the others that came before it. Only it’s derivative of them. And frankly, as much I enjoyed their first two albums, they themselves owed quite a bit to late 1980s Eurowhinerockers Joy Division.I am huge fan of Interpol. They have produced some of the best albums of the past decade with ‘Turn on the Bright Lights’, ‘Antics’ and ‘Our Love to Admire’, so you can understand just how much I was anticipating their new album this year. What an utter disappointment. I had to listen to this album about ten times to truly understand how horrible it really is. I thought just maybe it was one of those albums that sounds horrible at first listen, but after repeated listens it gets better and better…no…hell no…after repeated listens this album actually got worse and worse. When ‘Lights’ came out as a free download a month or so before the album came out I kind of figured we were in trouble. With Lyrics like
4. Rhymefest-El Che. ‘Fest has brought some of the most interesting, innovative cuts around on recent albums. Not this one. A snoozefest. Too bad.
3. Nas and Damian Marley. How do you take two of the most talented, influential and genre-breaking artists in the hip hop/reggae spheres and make them boring? Simple! Have them go over how bad history was for the black man like they’re giving a college lecture over beats you’d swear you’ve heard before.
2. Brandon Flowers-Flamingo. True, the quality of The Killers’ albums has gone down exponentially with every release, but how did Mr. Flowers sink this low? I actually laughed out loud when I heard this album.
1. Plastic Beach-The Gorillaz. One of my all-time favorite major label bands comes out with something that is . . . Plastic. Perfect name. Artificial, lacking in soul, easy to break and entirely forgettable.
